The Chicago Sky will try to take advantage of the Los Angeles Sparks’ tough times when they welcome the Sparks to Allstate Arena on Saturday in the first matchup between the two teams this season.

The Los Angeles Sparks are one of the WNBA’s most storied franchises, but they head into Thursday’s matchup against the Atlanta Dream battered and bruised. Ever since superstar forward Candace Parker went down with a knee injury in late June, the Sparks have struggled to a 2-8 record, including three straight losses heading into Thursday’s contest.

Los Angeles currently sits in the fifth spot in the Western Conference, trying to claw their way back into the race but finding it tough without Parker on the floor. Meanwhile, Chicago is in a battle with the Dream for the fourth and final playoff spot in the East but could use a winning streak to solidify their spot.

Last year the Sky split the season series with the Sparks with each team taking one of the two games. The first matchup on July 16, 2010, belonged to the Sky as Erin Thorn scored a team-high 15 points to lead Chicago to an 80-68 victory at Allstate Arena. The Sparks responded in game two with an 82-77 win in Los Angeles behind 22 points, six assists and five rebounds from DeLisha Milton-Jones.

Los Angeles has relied on Milton-Jones, Tina Thompson and Kristi Toliver for offensive production in Parker’s absence and will need the same output if they hope to tackle the Sky’s big three in Sylvia Fowles, Epiphanny Prince and Courtney Vandersloot.

Fowles leads the league in points with 20.3 points per game and is third in rebounds per game with 9.4. Prince and Vandersloot have been two of the top young guards in the game so far this season averaging 16.3 and 8.3 points per game. Prince also leads the league in steals per game with 3.0 per game, while Vandersloot leads all rookies with 4.4 assists per game.

The Sky is also hosting “Making It Better – A night to stop the Bullying” which includes a pre-game workshop in the Skyline Room 5-6:30pm. For more information call Shelli on 312.994.5980 or click here.